Feminism, like most social movements, has been marred by ugly episodes of exclusion in its past. First Wave Feminism, known for its achievement of getting women the right to vote with the Nineteenth Amendment, was known to be racist. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, one of the leading voices of the women’s suffrage movement, believed white, educated women such as herself were more deserving of the right to vote than African-American men; she was also very dismissive of the plight of African-American women. Second Wave Feminism, which took place from the early 1960s to the early 1980s, was homophobic in nature. Betty Friedan, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), reportedly referred to lesbian feminists as the “lavender menace.” Heterosexual feminists believed including lesbians would give credibility to the notion that feminists were man-hating lesbians and would cripple their ability to enact lasting political change. NOW also refused to include lesbians in its official platforms. This exclusion of lesbian feminists led to radical splinter groups that focused on removing male influence in society. Today’s feminism has been plagued by episodes of transphobia. Transgender women have been excluded from the conversation on how to advance women’s rights because they are not “women born.” The fact that there is a segment of feminism referred to as “trans-exclusionary” radical feminism (TERF) is abhorrent.

All this to say, Senator Gillibrand is right; feminism doesn’t have a unifying platform. That being said, there are many issues where all feminists can find common ground. Feminists can unify behind ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment because amending the Constitution to guarantee equal rights to women is something all feminists can agree on. Feminists can rally around abortion rights and affirming Roe v. Wade because you cannot be a pro-life feminist. Feminists can work for universal education for young girls and ending child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). While the women’s movement has been successful recently in fighting back against the onslaught of abortion restrictions, attacks on birth control, and lack of action on equal pay, we could take a lesson from the successful gay rights movement by uniting behind common causes to move progress forward.

Jennifer Lawrence was one of the many high-profile women that had nude photos stolen from their phones and posted online(Image Credit: “Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet at the 83rd Academy Awards” by Tabercil via Flickr)

On Sunday afternoon, nude images of high-profile women began hitting the web after they had been stolen off of their phones thanks to a glitch in iCloud. The revealing images were shared on the forum 4chan and quickly went viral. Close to 100 women, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Victoria Justice, and Hope Solo, had their private images posted on the Internet. To make matters worse, the images posted of US Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney were taken when she was a minor, making it child pornography. Let’s get one thing straight: These women did absolutely nothing wrong. If someone wants to take photos of themselves to consensually share with s omeone in private then go for it; there is nothing wrong with taking nude pictures to share. The issue here is the fact that these images were stolen and shared without the consent of these women. There are plenty of images online of naked women who consent to their naked images being plastered all over the web. People are seeking out these images because they were posted against the wishes of these women, upping the titillation factor. Viewing these images only furthers the online abuse of these women.

The response to all of this is not to say “Don’t take nude pictures and you won’t have to worry about getting your phone hacked.” That’s the equivalent of telling women not to wear a short skirt or drink too much alcohol and they won’t get raped. Everyone, whether they’re Academy Award winning actresses, sports superstars, or everyday Americans, has the right to privacy. Unfortunately, with so much information available on these celebrities, it’s too easy to hack into their personal information like their cell phones. Sadly, one response that developed in the wake of this theft Sunday was the #IfMyPhoneWasHacked hashtag on Twitter. Users, many of them being women, tweeted mundane pictures currently on their smartphones which continued the body shaming and victim blaming portion of this theft. This crime was not a hack, it was a sexual assault on these women. Sexual assault needs an expanded definition to catch up with technology which furthers the abuse of women beyond the physical attack. When this is done to women who aren’t in the public eye, it is called revenge porn and we are starting to see laws passed against this. Setting the precedent that celebrity women have no expectation of privacy because of their status and are just there for public consumption is incredibly dangerous.

The posting of these photos further showed just how crappy the Internet is for women. Online misogyny runs rampant through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and online message boards like 4chan. To be clear, this was a targeted attack against these famous women to bring them down a notch, because you can’t argue male celebrities don’t also take nude pictures. The responses saying don’t take nude pictures further highlights the backlash women receive for voicing their opinions. Feminist activists, in particular, receive a torrent of online hate everyday. Some respond to these abusers with humor, while others acknowledge the hate makes it difficult to continue using these sites. These online sites should be platforms for everyone to be heard, but how can women be these advocates if they’re constantly worried about violations of privacy and online threats, including threats of death and rape? As we move further into the digital age, we need to answer the questions that are raised surrounding speech and safety on social media. These sites, especially Twitter, have been too slow to confront this online hate and these threats because they value freedom of speech over the safety of their users. We need to be able to talk about our bodies and have the right to celebrate how we look. We deserve to be able to feel good about how we look naked without being shamed and threatened with violence. If you don’t believe this hate speech is used, take a look at what I’ve received merely for having “feminist” in my Twitter bio.

The next time you decide to make threats from behind a computer screen, remember a human being is sitting on the other side of it.

]]>https://missfeminista.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/the-stolen-nude-celebrity-photos-and-online-misogyny/feed/0clryan5Jennifer Lawrence was one of the many high-profile women that had nude photos stolen from their phones and posted online (Image Credit: "Jennifer Lawrence on the red carpet at the 83rd Academy Awards" by Tabercil via Flickr)Image Source: http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotoweb/fwbin/download.dll/45153802.jpgScreenshot_2014-08-03-04-05-18-1Screenshot_2014-09-01-00-59-32-1Screenshot_2014-09-03-14-12-14-1Reconciling my Feminism with my Love for Hope Solohttps://missfeminista.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/reconciling-my-feminism-with-my-love-for-hope-solo/
https://missfeminista.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/reconciling-my-feminism-with-my-love-for-hope-solo/#commentsMon, 23 Jun 2014 22:57:40 +0000http://missfeminista.wordpress.com/?p=274

Saturday morning I woke up with an alert on my phone informing me US Women’s Soccer star Hope Solo had been arrested and jailed for multiple counts of domestic violence. She was arrested and charged with 4th degree domestic assault for allegedly punching her sister and 17 year old nephew in the early hours of Saturday morning. Police described her as intoxicated and argumentative throughout the ordeal. Her sister and nephew were left with visible injuries. You will be hard pressed to find a bigger Hope Solo fan than me. A large poster of her, along with multiple signed photos, hang above my bed. I have part of her famous post-2007 World Cup quote in dealing with adversity tattooed on my left ribs, with plans to finish it complete with her autograph. And I named my first cat Hope after her when I adopted her nearly 2 years ago. So I’m sure you can understand why I’m feeling so conflicted over her domestic violence arrest. In short, I feel like a bad feminist.

In Hope Solo’s case, she was determined to be the aggressor by police and was subsequently arrested. In Washington, a mandatory arrest law is in place when police are called to a domestic dispute. The state also requires the accused to appear before a judge for a hearing to determine bail, which is why Solo was held in jail until this afternoon. Solo was granted release on her own recognizance, but ordered not to have contact with her sister or 17 year old nephew, the alleged victims in the case. She was also ordered not to drink alcohol until her next pretrial hearing scheduled for August 11th. Her attorney argued Solo is the victim in this case, citing court documents which state she was hit over the head with a broom handle and had a BB gun pulled on her, and believe they have a strong case to defend.

It is entirely possible Hope Solo is not guilty in this situation, and I hope she is acquitted of these charges and can go back to playing soccer in preparation for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Canada. The story being told by her nephew clearly has holes in it. As more information comes out, I’m a little impressed that Solo stood up for herself against a verbally abusive male who pulled a gun on her. But one thing has become very clear, I am a diehard fan of a very flawed woman. In this age of social media, we tend to learn things about our favorite athletes and celebrities that we would not necessarily want to know. Athletes don’t grow up dreaming of having their posters on kids’ walls or being perfect role models; they dream of winning titles, accolades, and making money. It’s important to remember that Hope Solo doesn’t owe it to anyone to be a good role model. And that is why, in spite of her off the field flaws, I will continue to cheer for her every time she steps on the field and hope she is in net to win her first World Cup next year.

“I’m not a feminist, but…” is a phrase that makes those of us that identify as feminists cringe, while also realizing we have a long way to go with the movement. The majority of individuals uttering this phrase are women. They often preface it with a very feminist argument, such as, “I’m not a feminist, but I believe in equal rights.” Feminists helped paved the way for many of the freedoms women enjoy today. This leads me to wonder, why are so many women so reticent to call themselves feminists? Easy answer: Rush Limbaugh and his “feminazi” campaign. Feminist icon Gloria Steinem denounced this disparaging term, while exposing Limbaugh’s historical ignorance stating, “Hitler came to power against the strong feminist movement in Germany, padlocked the family planning clinics, and declared abortion a crime against the state – all views that more closely resemble Rush Limbaugh’s.”

Actress Shailene Woodley is the latest in a long line of female celebrities coming out against the word feminist. Woodley said she is not a feminist because she loves men and does not want to take the power away from men. Her misunderstanding of the core principles of feminism is not surprising; the word “feminist” often conjures images of man-hating, bra-burning, hairy legged lesbians. Truth is, we feminists come in all shapes and sizes: white, black, Hispanic, gay, straight, bisexual, single, and married. At our core, we believe in equality of the sexes; feminism does not seek to reverse the patriarchal culture by subordinating men to female power.

Feminists won the right for women to vote in 1920, legal access to contraception (1965) and abortion (1973), criminalize marital rape (1993), brought issues such as rape and domestic violence into the public sphere, and continue to fight for equal pay. So the next time you say you’re not a feminist, understand that you are not supporting the aforementioned rights you now enjoy.

With this blog, I hope to dispel common misnomers surrounding the feminist movement and address current events involving women’s rights. Feminism is not just for women. As John Legend puts it, “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place.”

We should all be feminists, because who wouldn’t want to be associated with a movement that includes badasses like Gloria Steinem, Hillary Clinton, and my personal favorite, Jessica Valenti?